Prey's trite premise made me feel like I had already seen the film several times before. I hadn't. There's no way I'd watch this garbage more than once.
The formulaic storyline sees a group of young backpackers in Panama hiking to a scenic waterfall in a remote part of the jungle, despite being warned not to do so by friendly local Julio. The travellers' trip turns into a nightmare when they find themselves hunted by blood sucking cryptids, the chupacabra.
Reminiscent of countless other 'horrific vacation' movies, including An American Werewolf in London, Hostel, Turistas, Chernobyl Diaries, and The Ruins, with more than a touch of The Descent thrown in for good measure, this lame creature feature brings nothing new to the table, director Alastair Orr content to wheel out all of the expected genre clichés: rapid, wobbly editing and dark cinematography that prevents us from getting a good look at the monsters for most of the movie; 'found footage' shot on the characters' phones; and gutteral noises to creep out the viewer and sudden screeches to make them jump. Even the survivors are predictable from the outset.
Technically, the film is slick enough, and the cast do a reasonable job, but when the finished product is so derivative, what is the point?
2.5 out of 10, rounded up to 3 for latin hottie Laura Penuela as Carmen.
The formulaic storyline sees a group of young backpackers in Panama hiking to a scenic waterfall in a remote part of the jungle, despite being warned not to do so by friendly local Julio. The travellers' trip turns into a nightmare when they find themselves hunted by blood sucking cryptids, the chupacabra.
Reminiscent of countless other 'horrific vacation' movies, including An American Werewolf in London, Hostel, Turistas, Chernobyl Diaries, and The Ruins, with more than a touch of The Descent thrown in for good measure, this lame creature feature brings nothing new to the table, director Alastair Orr content to wheel out all of the expected genre clichés: rapid, wobbly editing and dark cinematography that prevents us from getting a good look at the monsters for most of the movie; 'found footage' shot on the characters' phones; and gutteral noises to creep out the viewer and sudden screeches to make them jump. Even the survivors are predictable from the outset.
Technically, the film is slick enough, and the cast do a reasonable job, but when the finished product is so derivative, what is the point?
2.5 out of 10, rounded up to 3 for latin hottie Laura Penuela as Carmen.